Monthly Archives: January 2010

I think I am finally sober enough after drinking myself into unconsciousness after the Vikings again, crapped all over themselves – and all of us who cheer for the Purple.

To tell the truth, I actually thought that there was a chance to win it. After all the fumbling and self-inflected wounds, I still thought the Vikings had a chance to kick a field goal as time expired. Oh, tortured souls are we.

Since I don’t want spent too much time rehashing the game, here are my Mini-Hits versions for my points of interest.

Based on how the game ended, and ignoring the fact that he signed an extension, I am not sure Brad Childress should keep his job. To all those you think I am just now piling on – please read some other posts. I have never held Childress in the highest esteem.

The evening was very exciting on Facebook, as 90% of my friends grew-up in Minnesota and North Dakota. The status updates were amazing.

So the NFL came out and said that the hit in the picture on Brett Favre should have been a 15-yard plenty. Awesome. So why was it not called? The ref was right there.

The purple started running with some authority in the fourth quarter and then they would call a stupid pass play. Just run the ball.

I thought that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman talked about the Saints defense and their coordinator way too much. Even though Vikings out gained the Saints.

I have watched the Saints several times this year, and I thought they looked very average.

Even though the Vikings lost, I think it is safe to say we were the better team.

Super Bowl Prediction

The Saints showed a ton of holes and the Colts defense is better than people think. add that with Peyton Manning pretty much in the zone, and I see the Colts winning 34 – 17.

The Saints are not going to get away with the boarder-line hits on Manning. There is no way.

US Soccer Bits

US soccer stat Landon Donovan scored his first goal in the English Premier League. Donovan’s goal came in the 19th minute during Everton’s win over Sunderland. Donavan is starting for Everton and has continued to improve and look more comfortable every time he steps on the pitch in his 10-week loan.

The World Cup schedule for ESPN/ABC was released. The first US group stage game against England will be on June 12 at 2 pm EST on ABC. Click here for the full schedule.

Timberwolves Talk

I follow the NBA and enjoy watching most teams, but they only team that I really have any connection with is the Minnesota T’Wolves. For the casual fan, this season has probably been very difficult to watch. And while I have yelled at the TV plenty of times, I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“A light at the end of the tunnel”? Really?

Yeah. I will do a full post on the state of the Timberwolves down the road, but this team as plenty of draft picks, will have cap room and have pieces for a competitive team. Plus the rights to Ricky Rubio.

So I decided to play GM with ESPN’s Trade Machine and came up with this trade that would reshape the T’Wolves.

If you can’t read this picture, the Wolves give up Al Jefferson, Brian Cardinal and Mark Blount’s expiring contracts, and Ramon Sessions to the Phoenix Suns, the Wolves would get Amare Stoudemire, Jared Dudley and Channing Frye from Phoenix and Joe Johnson from Atlanta. Atlanta would get Leandro Barbosa. At best, there is a 0.005692% chance of this actually happening. But let’s play pretend. After this trade, the Wolves starting line-up would be

PG – Flynn

SG – Johnson

SF – Corey Brewer

PF – Amare

C – Frye

You would still have Kevin Love, Jared Dudley and others off the bench. You would give your best player in Jefferson and back-up PG in Ramon Sessions – but Sessions is not your future – and Cardinal and Blount don’t play. This is a just a dream, but I would love to think that anything can happen with David Kahn. Like I said, this probably will not happen. But my point is, THERE ARE OPTIONS!!

I will do a more in-depth look at the Wolves and the possibilities that are available this off-season, suitable free agents and draft picks.

College Basketball Hits

The Minnesota Gophers were dominating the MSU Spartans, but then end up losing 65-64. I still can not figure this team out. They really have no “go-to player”. Then again, neither does Purdue.

Ohio State took a hit with Evan Turner out after breaking two vertebrae is his lower back. But since he has returned he is leading the No. 24 Buckeyes in points per game (18.4), rebounds per game (9.9), and assist per game (5.5). It may take while, but this Buckeye team is not cupcake.

UNC has fallen out of the Top-25 for the first time January 2006. Currently the Tarheels record is 13-7 and are 2-3 in the ACC – but there is still time.

Part of being popular in sports media is writing shocking and negative articles – take a look at Jason Whitlock. But Doug Gottlieb’s latest blog post on ESPN.com is not shocking, it just highlights the elephant in the room. While some may find it shocking, Gottlieb points some very “interesting” penalties and asks “Why do they always feel the same?”.

Here is the theme of Gottlieb’s blog post: When large college basketball programs get in trouble, it is to cover the ass of the football team.

“After watching USC take down eight consecutive opponents, including winning the Diamond Head Classic and starting off 2-0 in conference play, it seemed the tales of the demise of SC hoops had been greatly exaggerated. Then just like that — in a move swift, decisive and thorough — athletic director Mike Garrett announced there would be no postseason basketball for this rag-tag group of second-chance Trojans.

Garrett’s move is an attempt to precede the NCAA in their ultimate findings, but it also reeks of both hypocrisy and a soullessness that leaves most in college basketball thinking the same thing: USC does not care about its current basketball players or its basketball program. Instead, USC simply believes — at least in my mind and that of many others in the sport — that by giving up its hoop dreams, the NCAA will go light on the school’s football program.“

Gottlieb also points to other schools and their own issues. But when it came to the punishment, it was not the football teams who had scholarships taken away or postseasons taken away, but the sport that does not bring in as much money.

“Think about it realistically for a second. Look at the scandals in college sports over the past 20 years. Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio State and Indiana have all been on basketball probation in the Big Ten alone (and Northwestern had a point-shaving scandal), yet no one in the league has broken a rule so severe that there has been a major scandal on the football side? Come on.“

I do not have any inside information, but it is tough to believe that, with all the suspensions and teams that have been on probation, that the rules were only broken by players and coaches who were sneakers and shorts and not cleats and helmets.

“But again, how do you punish the current team for the past team’s NCAA violations? I just don’t get it. There must be consequences, but where is the accountability of the athletic department? It seems as though the coaches and players on the current team are the only ones truly accepting the blame for past transgressions.”

Busy Basketball Weekend

The college basketball teams ranked No. 3-6 and 8, 10-14, 16-18, 19-21 and 23 are all playing on Saturday. Then on Sunday the No. 1, 7, 9, 15, 19, 22, 24, and 25 teams have games. And there are match-ups on ranked teams all over the place – some on television.

Saturday

Colorado at No. 2 Texas

Georgia at No. 3 Kentucky

No. 4 Purdue at No. 20 Wisconsin

No. 5 Duke at No. 17 Georgia Tech on ESPN

Marquette at No. 6 Villanova

No. 8 West Virginia at Notre Dame

No. 10 Kansas State at Missouri

No. 11 Michigan State at Iowa

No. 13 Connecticut at No. 12 Georgetown on ESPN

UNLV at No. 14 New Mexico

Miss. St at No. 16 Mississippi

No. 18 Gonzaga at Portland

Boston College at No. 21 Clemson

No. 23 BYU at UTEP

Sunday

No. 1 Kansas at No. 15 Tenn on CBS

South Florida at No. 7 Syracuse

Virginia Tech at No. 9 UNC

No. 19 Florida State at Maryland

No. 22 Washington at Arizona

No. 24 Butler at Detroit

No. 25 Temple at Rhode Island

That is every-single-team ranked in the USA Today Top 25 playing this weekend. That is nuts. But here are my picks of the bunch.

Duke at GT – GT had one of the best recruiting classes this year, headlined by the want to see GT’s super-freshmen Derrick Favors play. Favors was the No. 2 recruit in the nation last year and while he is not getting the headlines like other freshmen (John Wall and Xavier Henry), Favors is averaging 12.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 2.2 blocks per game.

Kansas at Tennessee – Does anyone know what is happening or going to happen to the players arrested? I think they are suspend indefinitely, so this match-up may not be as close as it would be with Tyler Smith in the line-up. Still these are both talented teams, but Kansas is just bigger than Tennessee. Update – Smith has been dismissed from the team.

Purdue at Wisconsin – I know that Big Ten basketball can be very painful to watch, but this is the Boilmakers first real road test at the toughest place to play in the Big Ten – i.e. Duke in ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

UNLV at New Mexico – I know nothing about either of these teams, but there is buzz surrounding both teams. Should be a tough conference game.

NFL Playoffs Getting Started

The first round of the playoffs are also happening this weekend. And there are two rematch from last week with Philly and Dallas and Green Bay at Arizona. A lot people are picking upsets and home teams losing. Here are match-ups:

Saturday

NY Jets at Cincinnati

Philadelphia at Dallas

Sunday

Baltimore at New England

Green Bay at Arizona

Every match-up really could go either way, but here are my quick thoughts.

New York beats Cincinnati, I have no real thoughts about this game.

But the Philly/Dallas game is very interesting. Was what we saw last week real with Philly? I am not sure. But I think The Eagles go back to Dallas and upset the Cowboys.

New England could struggle without Wes Welker, but I am not confident in the Ravens offense. So, I am picking New England.

Green Bay rolled over Arizona – or did the Cardinals roll-over when they knew there was nothing to play for? I think Green Bay wins again.

The Vikings will play either Dallas, Arizona or Green Bay next Sunday. I fear only the Cowboys – but the Cardinals beat the crap of the Vikings and it is very hard to beat a team three times in a season. But the Purple are playing at home.

Minnesota Timberwolve GM David Kahn Podcast

I listen to a lot of podcasts – ESPN has a ton – and one that I listen to is the NBA Today with Ryan Rusillo. He however is not the reason that I listen. Rusillo just thinks to much of himself and kind of drives me nuts, but he gets a lot of good guests on the podcast.

he latest podcast features an interview with T’Wolve GM David Kahn and they discussed the team and his thoughts on the future of the team. Click here to get to the NBA Today podcast page.

Hope you all have enjoyed the holidays and all of the sporting events.

What a great time of the year. The NFL is gearing up for the playoffs, college bowl season is fantastic, out-door hockey, and college basketball has started conference play. Plus international soccer leagues are about to open transfer season and the NBA has been strong since the season started.

But let’s start with my favorite NFL Team – The Minnesota Vikings. Who are now taking the week off to rest before their match-up next weekend.

The Vikings beat-up a tired, ready-to-be-done New York Giants, 44-7. Yes – we are back on track! I would be very careful about getting to comfortable with a win against a team that had a 0% chance of making the playoffs.

Let’s recap:

After the Vikings started 10-1 and gave a win away to the Steelers, they lost 3 of their last 5 games and really showed flaws – but we will not getting to that now.

Let’s look at their schedule.

Of the thirteen different teams the Purple played in the year, only five had winning records. The Packers (11-5), Steelers and Ravens (9-7), Cardinals (10-6), and Bengals(10-6).

Twelve wins were against teams with a combined record of 66-94, highlighted by wins against Green Bay (2 wins), Baltimore, Cincinnati, and two 8-8 teams in the 49ers and the Giants.

Four losses to Arizona, Chicago (7-9), Carolina (8-8) and Pittsburgh with a combined record of 34-30.

Total combined record of all opponents = 93-115*.

*Some of the numbers may look off – but I only used the records of conference opponents once.

I know you can only play the teams on your schedule, but there has to be more concern about a team that has played so inconsistently against poorer teams. The Vikings have weapons all over the field – yet there now is an uncertainty that was not there in the first half of the year.

Losing E.J. Henderson was huge, Antoine Winfield missed a good deal fo the season, and Bernard Berrian is finally healthy. Bryannt McKinnie is playing better of late, but was awful for a while. The offensive line as a whole needs to give Brett Favre time. Jared Allen looks like every other defensive end in the league, not like Allen who was an MVP candidate. That falls on the defensive cordinator for not scheming enough to get Allen away from double and triple teams, because you know Allen’s motor is not problem.

We still have Favre, AP, Percy and Rice – the Sydney Edition – and very good defense. Yet, I have this feeling that the Cowboys or Eagles are going to come to the Dome and blow it up.

The thought of the Vikings woes have not kept me up at night – I have a six-week-old baby girl to do that for me – but there has to be concern running through this organization. Head Coach Brad Childress has never been in this situation – a first round bye. A lot will be said about what kind of coach he really is with this much time to prepare. Childress – prove you are worthy of the contract extension. Because I don’t think you deserved it.

Best College Basketball Program Of The 2000’s

I started this around Christmas, and totally forgot about it. But this decade has been quite the decade for College Basketball powerhouses to reestablish themselves and new ones to appear.

So here the suspects: Michigan State (Champs in ’00), Duke(’01) UConn (’04), UNC (’05 and ’09), Florida (’06 and ’07), and Kansas(’08). I did not include the ’02 Maryland and ’03 Syracuse – no real reason to explain.

And here are the Top Five.

Honorable Mention: UConn – The Huskies have been monsters in the Big East and had a great team in ’04. But they were a George Mason run away from their second title of the decade in ’06. Can you imagine that game Florida Vs. UConn? Just to get to the Championship game. So much NBA talent – head – going – to – explode.

5. Duke – Winning in 2001 with arguable the best team of the decade – Jason Williams, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy, Nate James and Chris Duhon. Had more wins in the 2000’s than any other program with 291, won 7 ACC Tourney Championships and four regular season Championships. But played in only two Final Fours and came up very short later in the decade – by Duke standards.

4. Florida – I know what you are thinking how can the only back-to-backers in the decade be 4th. A couple of reasons. The “What have you done for me lately” mentality kicks in hard since the last title. Only won three SEC tourney championships, but only one outright SEC regular season championship and two co-championships.

3. Kansas – Consistency kills. From Roy Williams to Bill Self, the Jayhawks never slipped. Never fell into the funk that Florida did. One very good team with Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison that played in two Final Fours and then one great team in the 2008 Jayhawks, led by Bradon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, Darrel Arthur, and Darnell Jackson. They also dominated the Big 12, like no other powerhouse dominated their conference with seven total regular season Championships.

2. Michigan State – One National Championship, four Final Four’s (with the ’99 Final Four, they made three appearances in a row. Only other team to do that is UCLA in the last ten years). Fall victim to the fact that they never dominated a conference that was very weak for most of the decade, winning only three regular season Championships and only one tourney crown in 2000. The 2005 team is one of my favorite teams of the decade with Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager, and Drew Neitzel which beat Adam Morrison’s 43 points and Gonzaga in triple-overtime in the Maui Invitational.

1. North Carolina – Two National Championships, four Final Fours, and probably has built the biggest and best recruiting/NBA pipeline ever. UNC does not rebuild – they “reload”. But then you have the Matt Doherty fail. Doherty took the team from No. 1 in the country in his first season to 8-20 in his second to 17-15 in his third. He had players, the same players the Williams won with in 2005. We can not forget Tyler Hansbrough. Without him, 2006 would have been difficult. This program has returned to dominance and there is not end in sight.

Coach of the Decade Award – Tom Izzo. Roy Williams would be a very close second, but Izzo just wins. And like many of the top coaches, his passion is obvious. Izzo has also become such a part of the community like that make the fans love him even more.

No. 4 Purdue beat the Gophers pretty handily, 79-60. The first half was close only because the Boilermakers could not shot the ball. That changed in the second half.

No. 2 Texas was pushed by Arkansas 96-85. Even with foul trouble, Damion James won the game with a couple big jump shots to seal the game.

UNC lost to Charleston 79-82. While it is big for Charleston, it is still early January. Everything will be OK. UNC will be just fine, they just need to get healthy.

Landon Donovan Has Arrived In England

The US Soccer golden boy is set to begin his 10-week loan with Everton which is a soccer club in the English Premier League.

“I am ready to enjoy it and I want to personally get myself sharp while I am here,” Donovan said Tuesday. “Tim Howard has had nothing but great things to say about this team so I am excited. Going into a World Cup year this experience will keep me sharp.”

The loan is great for Donovan as he has come into his own as a player. With his showing with the US in the Confederations Cup and with the LA Galaxy, Donovan is looking to replace the issues he has had in Europe with a good spell with Everton.

Donovan will need sometime to get back into shape, but this is a great situation for him. Donovan is a very sensitive person, and his play fluctuates with his emotions. So having Howard there is key. A fellow American who has seen Donovan play to the best of his ability and can be there to give guidance if needed.